paternal

adjective

pa·​ter·​nal pə-ˈtər-nᵊl 

1

a

: of or relating to a father

offered his children some paternal advice

paternal responsibilities

b

: like that of a father

paternal benevolence

2

: received or inherited from one's male parent

lived and worked on his paternal farm

3

: related through one's father

paternal grandfather

paternally

pə-ˈtər-nᵊl-ē 

adverb

Examples of paternal in a Sentence

He did not neglect his paternal responsibilities after the divorce.

Recent Examples on the Web

The war inspired Saab, whose paternal grandmother was born in the Palestinian territories, to found Chefs for Palestine, an interfaith, intercultural dinner series designed to raise relief funds for civilian suffering in Gaza. —Detroit Free Press, 6 Oct. 2024

Zoya, whose paternal great-grandparents were shot during the two-day slaughter of 33,771 Jews at Babi Yar, outside Kyiv, has an answer. —Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2024

Saturday Night director Jason Reitman says fans should toss out any preconceived idea of what Saturday Night Live mastermind Lorne Michaels sounds like in his new movie, chalking up most Michaels impressions as more paternal than precise. —EW.com, 27 Sep. 2024

In the 1940s, their paternal grandmother, Dot Ford, set a Mississippi high school record with an 82-point game in basketball, while their paternal grandfather, James Burrow, played basketball at Mississippi State University. —Adam England, Peoplemag, 15 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin paternalis, from Latin paternus paternal, from pater

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

paternal

adjective

pa·​ter·​nal pə-ˈtərn-ᵊl 

1

: fatherly

paternal advice

2

: received or inherited from one's father

3

: related through the father

a paternal grandfather

paternally

-ᵊl-ē 

adverb

Etymology

from Latin paternalis "fatherly," from earlier paternus (same meaning), from pater "father" — related to padre, patron, pattern